Introductions and Farewells
by IXypheryl
Summary: WARNING: Contains spoilers for MapleStory Second Blockbuster: Heroes of Maple. This is a tribute for what had happened in Act 2 regarding Eunwol. Trying a new way of writing, too.


Every beginning has an end, and every ending has a beginning.

Eunwol held the Golden Fox Marble with his right hand, reminiscing the moment when it was a small, blue fox marble, given by his friend.

To him, every step into Interdimensional Portal marks a new beginning.

He arrived at Fox Point Village. The fox villagers were surprised at his presence. 'No ears, no tails!' they said, gasped at his appearance. 'Where did he come from? Did his parents abandoned him because he was so? It seemed that it could walk!'

He had heard those words many times. However, he still couldn't get used to it. The fox villagers had once treated him as a kit, like children of their own, along with the kits in the village. It was a brief stay, but it _hurts_ when he returned.

He glanced at the whispering villagers. His eyes reflected his hidden sorrow, yet he tried to maintain an emotionless appearance. Without a word, he headed towards the stony steps leading up a huge tree on a mountain, surrounded by mysterious, glowing yellow flowers. The foxes wondered why a stranger would head there, but no one dared to follow after him, fearing that he would eat them.

Each step he took evoked memories of the past. He remembered that he was found in front of the fox stone statue by five kids. He remembered that he was puzzled how he ended up in this world, and the kids searched through him to find ears and tails. One girl with pink hair took care of him.

Fox God's permanent smile welcomed him to the top of the mountain. Yellow flowers surrounded the tree, moving along the blowing wind, waved at him in sync. The hollow Fox Tree remained growing, with branches grew out from its bark. Residing inside the tree was the giant fox stone statue, which the villagers worshipped. The lines of carved fires around its neck glowed a dim blue. Two moons hung on the sky, blending themselves into the azure sky.

Unconsciously he looked at the tree bark. There wasn't anything carved on it, but he remembered a mark he made with the little girl. He approached the spot where it was, touching the coarse surface of wood. The one thing he sacrificed to seal the Black Mage had led to the disappearance of it. Only he knew the time where something once exist on the surface he had touched.

One of the fox children climbed to the top of the mountain, panting. 'Hey!' she gathered her strength to call out to him. He turned around. The pink haired girl took a moment to catch her breath, then approached him, her eyes filled with hostility. He recognized those eyes from many people he had seen. A white rabbit-like creature with a long, thin tail with a small brown ball at the end of it followed her steps. 'Who are you? Why are you here?'

He thought he was used to it, but it seemed that he hadn't. Those words felt like a stab to his heart.

He forced a smile and looked at Fox God. 'I come here to pray.'

The statue seemed to smile back at him. Fox God was the only one who remembers him in this world, no matter how many times he walked back and forth from Maple World to Vulpes.

'Pray?' she frowned. 'But you don't have ears or tail. The Fox God only blesses those with ears and tail.'

He remembered the prayer she muttered when the girl first brought him here. "Um, Fox God, this is Eunwol, who will be hanging out with us. He doesn't have ears or tail, but he's still pretty cool. Make sure he doesn't get eaten or anything, okay?" He had thought Fox God was a lie until he received the power of spirits from the statue. Those skills he received, he had never seen it before. The little girl taught him how to use Fox Trot, even though she repeated how slow and weak he was many times throughout the short training session in front of Fox God.

He said nothing and approached the stone statue under her stare. He had done this many, many times. Kneeling under the Fox God's grace, he interlocked his fingers and started praying with his eyes closed. He prayed for _her_ protection, and the strength needed for him to overcome his emotional barrier. He opened his eyes to find the little girl kneeling beside him, praying as well. Blue spirits came out of the flames of Fox God and flew towards both of them, enveloping them with blue light momentarily. The girl, surprised, quickly muttered her gratitude under her breath. She sneaked a glance at him as he thanked the god for the blessing.

He stood up from the ground and headed towards the stairs. The long, black-haired male stop before the steps, observing the scenery beneath him. From here, he could see the village and fields nearby it. Although the monsters seemed to be as small as moving, colored dots, he remembered the "hunt" he had done to feed himself under his young guardian's orders, and the test he had done to be recognized as an adult fox.

'Hey,' the girl called, now her tone less hostile than before. 'Fox God blessed you. Who are you?'

Another introduction. He turned around and smiled at her. 'My name is Eunwol. It is given by my friend.'

'Eunwol,' she repeated his name. 'That's a good name. Who is your friend?'

He didn't answer.

'Did you come to visit your friend?'

'Yes. She usually comes here to pray.'

'Who is it? There is no one in the village I don't know!' the girl now stood in front of him. 'Tell me! I'll go get her! No one who is blessed by Fox God is a bad person.'

He didn't answer again.

The little girl tilted her head to the right, staring at him. 'Were you lying? Can't help it, then. I'll be your friend!' She told him and beamed.

That sentence again. It was both touching and hurtful at the same time. 'Thank you,' he said. 'What is your name?'

'Lang!' She held out her hand to him. They shook hands. 'Say, Eunwol, you're thin.' She observed his appearance and sniffed at him. 'You… smell like the wind. Are you eating well? Can you hunt without your claws? Were you abandoned?'

That description she had once said. Those questions she had once asked.

'Come, I'll take care of you, since you're weak. I'll teach you how to hunt.' She took his hand and pulled him down the stairs. 'The blessings from Fox God would help you a lot, since you need all the help you can get.'

'Lang, it's okay,' he said, pulling his hand back. This time, he was stronger than she was. A while ago, he couldn't resist her strong pull at all. 'I'm here only to visit a friend. I should leave now.'

'Huh?' she turned around, bewildered. 'But… you haven't met her yet.'

Eunwol patted her head. 'It's alright. She might not come today, but I am happy to be able to talk to you.'

She noticed the fox bead hanging around his wrist. She pointed at Golden Fox Marble and asked, 'Where did you get that? Only Pointed-Ear Foxes have them.'

He looked at the fox bead and his expression turned grim. Lang felt guilty of asking such questions, her face puzzled at his change of expression. A short pause later, he said, 'It was a gift… from my friend. It was supposed to be a secret.'

'Your friend gave you her spirit powers?' she said, shocked. 'She must've cherished you a lot as a friend.'

He smiled sadly. 'Indeed.'

'You see, I lost my spiritual powers. I don't know when I lost them, but it must be the Fox God who punished me and taken my powers,' she told him, letting go of his hand. 'It must be something I have done wrong. Strange you might think, but I don't remember doing anything that may have made Fox God angry.'

He was tempted to tell her that the marble was hers. He wanted to tell her that she had given her powers to him because of the injuries he had gotten from hunting mouse tails from Balloon Mice as gifts. He wished to thank her properly for sacrificing her abilities for him. Yet all of these words, he had once told her, were long forgotten. No, erased. A long time ago, she said that it would be impossible for the marble to be hers, for she had never seen him before.

'I see.' Those two words felt hard to speak.

The girl noticed his glum expression. 'Don't look so sad,' she said, laughing it off. 'It isn't your problem, anyway. This is why I prayed to the Fox God. To forgive the sins I have made.'

He wanted to give her powers back. 'Sorry, but I'm holding this for a little longer,' he uttered softly.

'Huh?' the girl raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. 'Nothing. See you later, Lang.'

A few steps later, she said, 'So soon?' He turned around, surprised at her tone. Her gaze downcast. 'You know, it feels like I've seen you before.' She lifted her face up, saddened. 'Will we meet again, Eunwol?'

The human smiled. 'I'll come back. I promise. Farewell, Lang.' His farewell.

'Promise!' This time, the pink haired fox girl didn't stop him.

Crossing the Interdimensional Portal wipes his presence in Vulpes a clean slate. He still needed to help his friends against the Black Mage. He looked at the portal behind him. The image of the little fox girl remained in his mind. He looked at the Golden Fox Marble strapped to his right wrist and smiled. Then…

'Eunwol.' A firm voice called his name. His eyes jolted open, meeting a dark skin woman's piercing gaze. She had long white hair, tied into a high ponytail. She moved away from his vision. 'We have arrived.'

He got up from the palms of the giant blue genie docking by the station, confused. 'You… remember me?'

She chuckled. 'Still sleeping? Of course I remember you. You were training with me for a while.'

'Oh.' His shoulders slumped. He remembered introducing himself to Aran afterwards. He must have dreamt of the time when he left Fox Point Village a few months ago. But why? 'Where are we?'

'Ariant.' The dark skinned woman wearing green-painted boar hide crop top and pants along with grey leopard skin coat jumped off the genie's hands with the pole arm in hand. 'Do you need some briefing?'

'If you may.' It seemed that he was stuck at the moments when he had just returned to Maple World. Shaking his head, he left the genie's hand, landing on Ariant soil. The leather clothes given by Pointy Ear Foxes felt hot to his skin, even more so with the color black. He tugged at his collar a few times to relieve some of the heat he experience, but the air around was hot as well.

Aran began. 'Lilin was kidnapped. We went to Slumbering Dragon Island to save her and the penguins in Rien. Evan was there, saying that Afrien was in trouble.'

He remembered that. He didn't expect Evan to be there. His face was too similar to Freud's. Evan didn't remember him, to his dismay (though expected), so he had to introduce himself again. Eunwol nodded, retying the small ponytail at the back of his head as it was loose from his sleep. Aran frowned at his state.

'Afrien was in a horrible shape.' Aran's face turned grim upon the mention of the name of King Onyx Dragon. 'He sent Freud's last message to Evan, then he sacrificed himself to destroy Damien. We were teleported out of the area. The cave collapsed right after we left.' She bit her lower lip, then scowled at him. 'Are you awake now?'

That's right. Afrien died. Damien was too much for Aran to handle, even in her enraged state. He took the demon down with him. He recalled Mir's crying face and Evan hugging the dragon right after they left the cave. Both he and Aran stared at the young Dragon Master and the last Onyx Dragon, mourning of the loss of an old comrade of theirs outside the collapsed icy cave, in the middle of a blizzard.

'Freud left something behind,' he said. 'We need to get to it.'

Aran nodded. 'We promised to meet Evan. We should go.'

The man who controlled the genie to bring them to the area was ahead of them. The turbaned man peered out of the corner of the bricked walls, looking out to the city. Eunwol frowned at his action. What was he looking at? Aran's steps frightened him and he jumped, turning around slowly. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw that it was the both of them. 'Please don't do that…' he said timidly, and pointed outside the arch. 'Monsters are in town. Stay here, and you won't be hurt.' He quickly added after a brief pause, 'Probably.'

The duo frowned and glanced at each other. Aran grinned at the black-haired male and looked towards the arch, her pole arm resting on her shoulder. Wolves with riders on top of them ran past the arch, making the turbaned man cowered behind the walls as the grounds shook from their steps. He understood what his old friend wanted to do, and equipped his azure knuckles on both hands.

'He won't be angry if we were late, right?' he said to her. The smile on Aran's face widened with his answer.

'Where are you two going?' the turbaned man was baffled when they headed towards the arch. 'It's chaos out there!'

Aran smirked at him. 'To kick some ass.'

While his mouth was wide open, they ran towards the city. Thousands of monsters now roamed in town, and only two person, one armed with a pole arm and another a pair of knuckles who fights them. The man thought that they were on a suicidal mission. The odds weren't on their favor. He saw colored spirits raised from the ground, where the fighters were. On his left stood a spirit of red moose, smashing the ground and punching the monsters up to the air, then pushed them further away from them. A green eagle would time to time appear, flapping its sharp wings at the monsters. To his right was a spirit of blue bear tearing through the monsters with its claws, followed by the fire spewed out from a purple phoenix, pounced by a red lion, and ended with two giant pole arms landed on the ground, forming a cross.

In minutes, the spirits seemed to move further and further away from the arch, and the Ariant man was shocked at the progress made by mere two adventurers. No, they should be called heroes from then on. Cautiously he walked towards the arch. The sight of the fallen monsters scattered on the sandy road. Robed men with purple skin collapsed on the ground, not moving. What seemed like all hope was loss before seemed like a bad dream. He looked around town. The two heroes in his eyes had left to their separate ways, leaving trails of the fallen creatures behind them. Shaken, he fell to his knees and clasped both of his hands together. 'Thank you, God! Thank you, heroes!' he cried. But none of those he wanted to tell to hear them.

Later, Aran and Eunwol reached to the meeting place Evan aforementioned during their last meeting. No one was around. The place was awfully quiet. Both of them exchanged glances. Aran gestured to search around, and he nodded. Cautiously, they moved forward from the rendezvous point. He spotted a hole on the ground a few meters away and gestured at the woman. Both of them approached the giant hole.

'Something's down there,' said Aran as she squatted near it, peering through the strange hole on the ground.

'Shall we go?' he asked. The warrior didn't answer him and jumped into the hole. He smiled at her recklessness and used Fox Trot to enter the hidden area. Aran was staring at something on the ground a few steps away from his landing spot.

'Paw prints,' she said, standing up. He looked at the trails she pointed out. At least few dozens of them had gone by the area before them. Ahead stood an old ruin, possibly a sanctum, with its entrance wide open. 'They were here.'

'We should hurry.'

They rushed towards the ruin. An odd-looking pile of crumbled rocks rested near the entrance, with the top rock having a carving similar to the stone panel above the door. The two things might have a relation, but he had no time for this. Evan and the rest might be in danger. He glanced at Aran. She must've thought the same.

Entering the building, they saw traces of monsters scattered inside. They seemed to look like the old monsters that once roamed the area, but now lost from the passing time in the outside world. Now, they were completely erased from existence. The insides of the area were dimly lit by aquamarine crystals on the walls. More monster pieces fell at the hallway with an engrave symbol on the wall. Ahead, few demons rested in the area. He called forth a fawn-like imp and pulled them towards him. Aran let out a battle cry and crushed them with her pole arm right after. Most of them were unconscious. She questioned the sole demon that narrowly escaped her attack. Grabbing his collar, she asked, 'Are there more ahead?'

The weak blooded demon feigned bravery and snickered at her. 'It will be all too late. The relic will be ours. The heroes will fall.'

Aran threw him to the wall mercilessly and he slumped to the ground, eyes closed. Then she turned towards Eunwol. 'Can you still keep up?'

He nodded. 'Of course.'

How long it had been for him to fight along with his friends. A nagging feeling behind his head prevented him to be at ease. Every beginning has an end, and every ending has a beginning. Farewell awaits, behind it followed closely of a new introduction. Their memories of him may be new, but not to him. He shook the negative thought away and concentrated on the current situation.

Not too far ahead was a flight of stairs led downwards. Aran stopped briefly at the huge mural beside it. A circle with three triangles on it. Inside the triangles were circles. The circles represents the transcendent of Maple World. The first small circle above the two represented the transcendent of light. On the lower left was the transcendent of life. The lower right represents the transcendent of time. He narrowed his eyes at the drawing of an hourglass on the lower right.

'Balance of the world,' Aran muttered, then headed down the stairs. He followed after her. A small group of demons were guarding the place, as if they knew someone would be coming through. Were they demons under Damien's orders? Was he still alive? Their presence was noticed and the demons started attacking. He stepped on several monster pieces while attacking them with Spirit Frenzy and wondered why they were littered all over the place.

'Were they tailed?' he asked after the last demon fell to the ground.

'Most likely.' Aran sighed and they continued forward.

They encounter another flight of stairs leading downwards, and a huge mural by it. A long hair male wearing a similar robe to Luminous, his left hand holding a staff. The individual seemed to be absorbing the power of darkness. He had a familiar feeling that he had seen the person before, but he couldn't recalled where. Without a word, they headed down the stairs. A loud rumble echoed in the ruin and the area shook. Aran planted her pole arm on the steps while he held close to the walls. A moment later it stopped.

'What was that?' he asked.

The woman pulled out her axe, shaking her head. 'No time to waste.'

There weren't anyone guarding. Monster pieces remained scattered around the place. They stumbled upon another large mural, and another flight of stairs. Aran stopped before the flight of stairs, eyes widened. It seems that Aran had reacted to it. 'How deep are we going?' he asked before examining the wall. His eyes widened. It was the last battle he had before he was transported to Fox Point Village. Black Mage's figure was in the middle. On the left, from top to bottom, were Phantom, Mercedes, and Luminous. On the right were Freud, Aran, and an erased panel. He could vaguely make out the bottom right panel. It was _him_. He was shocked.

'History? Why was it engraved on the walls?' Aran muttered.

'No idea,' he replied, shaking his head.

They continued down the flight of stairs. It was obvious that someone was there before them, and in large numbers, at the hallway. Without exchanging a word, they paced to the end of the hallway. Another large mural by the stairs leading down. A picture of a large wolf seemed to be devouring a tree. He noticed the crescent moon tribal symbol on the beast's eyes. He saw that before. 'Aran,' he called, stopping her after she had taken three steps. 'Look. The eye.'

She frowned and looked at the mural. Her face filled with anger upon recalling the symbol. 'Damien,' she growled, then stomped down the stairs. He ran after her.

Down the stairs was once a sealed room, now broken through, with sand along with gold coins overflowing out. Many demons on wolves were inside, stepping onto the stone steps on the tower that stood in the middle of the room, heading upwards. Aran ran into the room without a second thought. He sighed and followed suite. Sand poured out from the ceiling inside. She jumped on the first demon she saw, knocking him out in one swing. The demons were alerted of their presence from the sounds. Those closest to them got off the stone platforms and ran towards her. She spun towards the demons, pushing the demons forward, then jumped upwards, summoning icicles beneath the enemies' feet, lifting them up, followed by planting her pole arm into the sand. A giant pole arm was summoned, dropping onto the demons that fell. He pulled some of the demons towards to him by summoning the fawn-like purple imps and buried them into the sand by the aid of a blue moose spirit, which punched them downwards.

Few more were on the steps. Aran lowered herself, then launched herself upwards, pushing the demons on the steps down with her swings. He looked at her in awe as she seemed to defy gravity for a brief moment, swinging Maha with a grin on her face. He focused on the nature spirits around him, calling them to attack. A small amount of blue spirits seeped out of the sand, spinning around him, and he controlled them with the movement of his hands. The spirits slowly increased in time, widening the range of his attacks. Demons who fell were quickly defeated by the speeding spirits that ran around him.

Sand continued to pile up amidst this. He felt the sand reaching to his knees, and he quickly got out from the situation. Aran jumped and hung onto one of the stone steps after they were defeated. 'Eunwol! Hurry!' she yelled as she pulled herself up, then looked down at him. 'Take my hand!' She crouched down, stretching out her left hand towards him. He nodded and jumped towards her. The white-haired woman grabbed his wrist with a grin, and pulled him up to the platform she stood. Both of them glanced at the level of sand beneath them, with the demons slowly covered by them. 'More of them ahead. Let's go,' said the woman, then she ran up the tower, following the stone steps. Eunwol glanced at the unconscious demons beneath him once more, feeling pity, then shook his head and continued upwards.

'There'll be no end to this if we keep on fighting them here,' they heard Mercedes said, ahead of them. The short hallway into the tower led to the outside, with a group of demons at the entrance, all riding blue wolves. Both of them rushed towards the group without wasting a second. Maha, Aran's pole arm, turned huge as she ran towards them from behind, letting out a war cry. Eunwol was slightly faster than her steps with the aid of Fox Trot while he called forth the spirit of nature who took the form of a red moose with wings. Both of them pounced at the small group, taking over the fight.

'Sorry I'm late!' Aran yelled during the fight. The demons were completely vanquished, with the ground mostly chipped off from their combination attack, revealing a little more of the silver, huge bird-like structure.

'Aran, Eunwol!' Evan said, his eyes glimmered in gratitude of their appearance.

'It's been a while, Aran,' Luminous nodded to her.

'I was wondering what the loud sound was. As expected, it was you,' Mercedes said with a smile on her face.

'What, everyone really came?' Aran looked at the rest of the group, then shifted back to Evan. 'You did better than I expected, Evan.'

He was left out from the conversation. He knew this would happen. Apart from Aran and Evan, he had yet to introduce himself _again_ to Phantom, Luminous, and Mercedes. In their eyes, he was nothing but a stranger Aran had brought along with. He understood it, but he couldn't help but feel lonely. They were friends, before the fight of Black Mage, and on the sky a while ago. That brief travel of his to Vulpes changed many things in Maple World. And his travel here had changed many things in Fox Point Village, too.

He shook away his feelings. They cannot take over him now. There are more important things than them in the time being.

'It's good that the both of you came. What happened?' Evan asked, concerned.

'We're late because we were taking care of the soldiers from the back,' he said. 'There's about thousands of soldiers hiding out in Nihal Desert.'

'The demon soldiers?' the young Dragon Master was taken aback of the news.

He nodded. 'Yes. Damien knew you were coming and ordered them to stand by. I'm thinking Damien purposely let us go because he's also looking for something here.'

'That means…' Evan trailed off. Everyone knew what he was talking, even if he didn't finish the sentence.

'More enemies approaching!' Mercedes warned them. Evan started to panic, his face turning pale.

'I don't know what it is that Freud left behind, but we should hurry,' he added.

'Yeah, what are you waiting for?' Aran smiled at Evan. 'I'll stay behind and take care of things here.'

Evan lifted up his face and met her gaze, then nodded. 'I'm counting on you!' Then, he turned around and hurried towards the building ahead, topped with a large statue of something, its pair of wings spread out wide. Mercedes and Luminous nodded at them and followed after him. Phantom left after a wave of his hand, following after the trio ahead of him.

Then, Aran said, 'I don't remember much, but this feels familiar somehow.'

Indeed. It, too, reminded him back in Temple of Time, a long time ago. 'That time, you were holding the enemy's forces all by yourself.'

'Did I?' she raised an eyebrow. 'I can't remember.'

He nodded, smiling at her. 'This time, I'll be by your side.'

'Good,' she grinned. 'I'm leaving my back to you!'

The enemy forces Mercedes had heard arrived. Huge, deep purple phoenixes flew past their heads, heading towards their friends behind. 'Shit!' Aran turned back at the pack of wolves ahead, all ridden by the expressionless weak blooded demons. 'We'll just have to hold back most of them!'

'Right!' Eunwol summoned the spirit of nature, the red moose, once more. It stood by his side as he charged, acting as his fists as they collided with the demons. Aran swung Maha around, calling forth spirits with her swings, to aid her in battle. They were beginning to be worn out, and Damien seemed to know that well. The seemingly endless demons continued rushing forward. A moment later, the both of them were surrounded, theirs backs touching each other as they catch their breath. Aran pulled out Elixer from her pouch and poured the contents directly into her mouth, then throwing it onto the ground, shattering it to pieces. He scanned at the numbers of demons around him, making plans while drinking a bottle of Elixer. The demons, unknown to their plans, stood on standby, watching their actions carefully. Then, they moved out from the place, defeating the demons with their remaining strength.

They could only believe in Evan.

What felt like a long time later, the ground started to shake. Everyone on scene turned to look at the source of the shaking. Aran just finished defeating one of the demons, and she turned to look at the silver relic that started to float. Eunwol landed behind her and looked. The huge ship-like structure slowly levitated itself, and its shaking had made some demons who made past them to fall off from its bow. Everyone else seemed to have boarded the ship. Aran grabbed onto the end of the ship, lifting her up from the ground. He took care of a few demons who attempted to pull her down as she helped to regain footing, then used Fox Trot to teleport onto the ship.

Phantom and Mercedes approached them. The demons below rode on the phoenixes in an attempt to take the ship. Phantom pulled out three cards out of thin air and threw them at the first three pursuers. The birds fell, two bringing down those who flew from behind. Mercedes pointed at the demons with her dual bowguns. Arrows were magically reloaded onto her weapon. She shot down a few phoenixes that Phantom had missed. Before more could reach out to them, the ship had flown higher than the phoenixes could, and had fallen back to ground. Mercedes let out a sigh of relief, and they moved towards Evan, Mir and Luminous, who stood in front of something that seemed to pilot the ship.

'A flying relic… I've never seen anything like that,' Mercedes commented when they have gathered. She looked at her surroundings in awe. Clouds drifted by them. They were flying in the sky.

'Our efforts paid off at the end,' Phantom added.

Luminous scowled at him. 'It would have been easier if you haven't said anything on the way.' Eunwol couldn't help but chuckle at their spat.

'You two are still the same, I see,' a familiar voice spoke. What seemed like a door in front of them with a fitted crack piece, a similar symbol from the ruin entrance engraved onto it, appeared Freud's spirit. He couldn't believe his eyes. He had finally found him. The last person he was trying to find, yet failed. The blonde haired male with gentle sea blue eyes, who seemed to be fading away, smiled at the group.

He couldn't help but feeling teary-eyed. 'Freud!' Everyone called out his name.

'Sorry for making you go through all that trouble,' he said, looking at the face of the six people in front of him. 'I couldn't do anything about the traps that were laid in the sanctum.'

'Freud, does this mean you're alive somewhere?' Luminous had asked the question he wanted to know the most.

The faded presence shook his head. 'I not sure. I'm only a figure of his thoughts, so I only have his previous memory. The real me probably left this world a long time ago.'

Everyone fell silent. They knew, but when the truth was clarified, it felt harsh. Eunwol couldn't help but feel sad of the known fact. At the very least, he could see him once more, even though he was merely a memory left behind of his friend.

'Yeah,' Luminous said after a brief pause. 'It's been hundreds of years, after all.'

'But to see you again like this… Now the five of us are finally complete,' Mercedes smiled sadly.

Freud's spirit shook his head once more. 'No, it's _six_.'

Eunwol looked at the spirit in shock. Does that mean he remembered him? But how could it happen so? Everyone else had forgotten about him. The others frowned, looking at each other in confusion.

'Sealing away the Black Mage requires a sacrifice,' he continued. 'I made the technique myself, so I'd remember it. If someone sacrifices their existence, then they're forgotten from everyone's memories.' Eunwol swallowed his saliva. 'That means, that we are originally a group of six, not five.'

The queen of elves didn't understand. 'That means…?'

The figure of Freud's memory walked towards him. The other heroes' gaze followed him, their face indicated their surprise at the new knowledge. 'I'm sorry that I couldn't remember your name,' the memory uttered to him. He still couldn't believe it. Happiness welled up inside him. 'What should I call you?'

For a moment he couldn't speak. He was happy. Someone finally remembered him. He couldn't describe the feeling he felt. Even though Freud couldn't remember his name, he was happy. His existence wasn't completely erased. Someone does _remember_ him. For once, he was happy to introduce himself once more, to someone who actually remembers him – to his friend, who he longed to meet.

'Eunwol. It's a name that my other precious friend gave to me.'

Freud flashed a smile at him. 'Yes. Welcome back, Eunwol.' The familiar tone he used to hear, the same gentle face Freud had…

The tears that he kept from flowing out from his eyes was beyond his suppression and finally overflowed. Even if he was a mere memory of Freud's, he couldn't help but feel happiness. How long he yearned for someone to remember him, even if he had passed through dimensions. Every interaction with someone new, he couldn't help but felt that they would ended up as strangers again. He was tired of meeting people he knew, and had to introduce himself again, and again, and again. Lang. Aran. Mercedes. Luminous. Evan. Phantom. He had hoped that one day, they would remember him. Even if they do not remember his name, at least, he hoped, his presence in their life. But that day had never arrived.

But the thoughts Freud had left behind remembered him. It gave his life a meaning again. His life was bleak. To never be remembered by anyone was horrifying. He had no choice but to embrace his new life. He could only attempt to get used to it. What could he have done to make others remember him? It was his choice to sacrifice himself to finish the seal. It was because he was the weakest among them all. He had no one else. The others had many people awaiting for their return. No clan, no family, and he was prepared to not be missed by anyone.

Maybe a little, only by them. Even so, that wish was never granted at the end.

'Freud…' he sniffed, wiping away his tears with his hands, and then smiled back at him, tears remained flowing down his cheeks. 'I'm back.'

He wished that time would stop, right here, right now. He hoped that this moment would be eternal. It was his happiest moment of his life.

However, every beginning has an ending. Every introduction has a farewell, and everything is never eternal.

It is time for Freud's farewell.

'If that's true, we have a long journey ahead of us,' Evan said after Freud had explained the substance he wished them to retrieve from another dimension.

'Yes. But my journey ends here,' the memory replied, a sad smile hung on his face.

'Freud, what are you saying?' Mercedes asked, aghast.

The spirit gazed far away to the sky. 'This spirit is probably the last trace that I left behind. Now it's time for me to go.'

The queen of elves looked sad. 'But…' She wanted to protest, but no words could come out from her lips.

'You're leaving,' Luminous muttered with a grim look.

The master thief sighed heavily. 'You never change, Freud. You've appeared so suddenly, but now you're leaving again with all this in our hands.'

'We've only met after hundreds of years… Now you're leaving so soon…' he uttered. All of his tears had dried up. He was ready to embrace this moment. He had lived through many introductions and farewells, but this would be the hardest he had to take in. The farewell of someone who actually remembers him, and he will never return. Even so, the man himself had gone a long time ago, and the spirit ahead was nothing but a memory. He could never replace the real Freud. The spirit knew that. He knew that.

'Freud, if this is our last good bye…' Mercedes was tongue-tied. She looked to the ground. 'I couldn't think of anything to say.' He wouldn't blame her. He had nothing much to say to him but to state the obvious that everyone knew.

Aran, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke. 'My memories aren't complete, but I have a feeling that you must be someone very precious to all of us.' She had the bravest face among the six on board.

Freud's memory smiled as brightly as he could to lighten up the situation. 'Thank you. I won't forget the journey we've embarked together.'

The spirit seemed to be fading.

'W-wait, Freud!' Evan called out to him, panicking. He had the greatest responsibility among everyone, and the least experienced, too.

'Evan, I'm leaving them in your hands.'

'I still have so much I want to ask you…'

Freud smiled gently. 'You'll be able to find the answers yourself. You're my descendant, after all.'

The young magician still had many more to say, but the spirit was fading. He turned into bright yellow before finally disappearing into a ball of light, then, scattered into tiny pieces as they were carried by the wind, away from Abraxas, the flying relic.

For a moment, no one said a thing.

Mercedes broke the silence. 'I still had so much I wanted to say to him…'

Luminous muttered, 'We all did.'

Eunwol smiled sadly. 'It can't be helped… Freud was always like that.'

Aran had her priorities. 'Then our next destination is decided.'

'We have something to we need to do before that,' the elf told her, then looked at the rest. 'Since Freud's not here, we need a new leader.'

'Well, there's only one person fit for the job,' said Phantom, smiling.

Everyone turned towards Evan. He was confused at everyone's sudden attention to himself.

'I approve,' Aran nodded.

'Yeah,' Luminous added.

'You're our leader now, Evan,' Mercedes spoke for everyone.

'Master, you have a lot on your shoulders,' Mir said, grinning.

'M-me?' Freud's descendant was shocked. His confidence quickly slipped by and he started poking the ends of his index fingers together. Sheepishly, he said, 'Uh… so I… I don't know if I'm qualified enough, but…' Phantom started to move ahead. 'Ah, wait…'

Phantom turned around and grinned. 'Now, let's enjoy the view. This is Freud's present, after all.'

Everyone agreed with Phantom's suggestion and moved towards the ship's bow, leaving Evan alone standing awkwardly. He quickly turned around. 'W-wait…Wait for me!' He hurried towards the group.

The seven of them enjoyed the view from the sky. Ariant seemed small from above. In the middle of the town, a recognizable large white castle stood there, surrounded by a small river. An oasis stood right outside of the town, a purple tent nearby. Nomads moving from one town to another with camels in the middle of the desert, some sitting on the camel, some walking by it. Not too far away was the dark, looming town, Magatia, the city of alchemy. Many grim buildings stood tall on its bricked ground.

Luminous approached him. 'Eunwol, is it?' he asked. 'I'm sorry.'

He recalled the last time he had apologized to him. It was before he had sacrificed himself. Freud and Luminous both volunteered to sacrifice themselves for the seal, but he managed to persuade them by volunteering himself. Before he did so, Luminous said the exact same words. "I'm sorry."

He replied with the same respond he gave before. 'Don't worry about it.'

Luminous gave a weak smile.

Moments later, Evan asked everyone's opinion about their next step. 'We will need to enter another dimension to retrieve the substance,' he said sheepishly. 'Uh… is there any plans to do so?'

The word "dimension" made him feel unease. Eunwol raised his hand. 'Yes, Eunwol?' Evan asked.

'I'm sorry, but I can't participate in this.'

'H-huh? W-why?' the young magician started to panic again.

He didn't answer. The other heroes looked at each other.

He cannot risk another introduction and farewell. Not now. Not with this important task in hand that Freud entrusted to him, and everyone else on board.

'Let him be. If he doesn't want to, we cannot force him,' said Luminous. 'We can do it with the five of us.'

They dropped him at Six Path Crossway. 'Sorry, and thank you,' he smiled at them. 'Good luck.'

He watched them as they entered Interdimensional Portal with the aid of the relic left behind by Freud. Though saddened of his choice, he couldn't go even if he wishes to. Once he had passed through the portal, his existence will be wiped clean slate in their minds. His friends would be hostile towards him once more, even more so as he was on board with them in a ship. Freud's words about him would be forgotten again. He wished to maintain this subtle, brief relationship they shared on the ship.

As long as he could, he would like to stall his farewell to his friends.


End file.
